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WHL Tri-City Americans

Jackson Smith, Cruz Pavao Invited to Hockey Canada Summer Camps

July 16, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Kennewick, WA - The Tri-City Americans are pleased to announce that Jackson Smith and Cruz Pavao have been invited to Hockey Canada's Summer Camps for the upcoming Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and World Under-17 Hockey Challenge events, respectively.

The Hlinka-Gretzky Cup is set for August 5-10 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta and will feature the top 2007-born players from Canada, the United States, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Finland. The Hlinka-Gretzky camp features 40 total players with Smith being one of 12 defensemen invited. The camp runs from July 27-30 in Calgary.

Smith, from Calgary, Alberta, had an extremely successful rookie season in the WHL with 29 points (8-21-29) in 61 games. The Christmas break was a major boost for Smith as he found his game in the second half of the year with 23 of his 29 points coming over the last 36 games of the 2023-24 season. He was named the Americans team Rookie of the Year.

Smith is looking to represent Team Canada for a second time as he was on Team Canada Red's roster for the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, recording two assists in seven games.

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge takes place November 1-9 in Sarnia, Ontario. The event features two teams from Canada, Team White and Team Red, along with the United States, Finland, Sweden and Czechia. The U17 Hockey Canada Summer Camp is slated for July 18-24 with 80 of the top 2008-born skaters in Canada invited. Pavao is one of 48 forwards taking part in the camp.

Pavao, also from Calgary, Alberta, is preparing for his first full season in the WHL after being drafted by the Americans 13th overall in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. With his U18 Edge School Prep team last season Pavao played 27 regular season games and recorded 39 points (16-23-39). During the CSSHL Championships Pavao added another 11 points (3-8-11) in just five games, including assisting on the overtime-winning goal in the U18 championship game.

He also made quite the first impression on the Tri-City Americans and the WHL by scoring five goals in eight games as an affiliate call up during the 2023-24 season, including scoring the game-winning goal in each of his first two games.

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